A few years ago, my oldest son was appalled to learn that after 15 years of practice, I was making the same salary as more junior male surgeons who had significantly less experience.

As I thought about his reaction, I realized that I was a part of the problem. I had administrative accomplishments, financial impact, and “Top Doc” peer ratings, but I had to take a harder look at my own expectations and what I was signaling. Continue Reading

Every Sunday, Kevin Cleary EMP 55 sits down to plan out his week. It’s meticulously laid out and includes all of his workouts, runs and rides. He notes the times and distances for each activity and then adds them to a spreadsheet. Ask him for proof and he will be happy to produce a document that spans every week for the last 15 years.

Cleary approaches the rest of his life with the same tenacity, determination and efficiency. As the CEO of Clif Bar & Company, a household name in organic food, he manages to run a company with not one but five bottom lines, retain a vigorous exercise regimen and even find time to coach his sons’ baseball teams.

Cleary shared his journey to his current career and experience at Kellogg. Continue Reading

At Kellogg School of Management, students maintain a rigorous academic schedule. On top of their classes, study groups and homework, many students in the Executive MBA (EMBA) Program also balance high-level careers and families. Making the commitment to extra activities like social lives, service and fitness can be an adjustment.

Current EMBA student Ana Vazquez, a pediatric dentist with a private practice in Indiana, managed to find the time and energy to train for the 2013 Bank of America Chicago Marathon. We asked Ana to share her secrets to work-life-study balance.

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. — Marianne Williamson

When I applied to the EMBA program at Kellogg, I had been out of school for 12 years, the first few of which I spent working in corporate finance at General Electric and Microsoft and in private banking. Then, I began working with my real passion – international development as Founder and CEO of a non-profit organization. I was also a mother to three daughters, ages 6 and 2-year old twins. Life was interestingly busy.

THE GROUNDS of the Kellogg campus is indistinguishable from the set of one of those midday BBC Channel films featuring the emotionally subdued enduring love of an aged-couple – aptly titled “Geriatric Gestures of Endearment”. Surrounded by the crashing waters of Lake Michigan, complemented by twenty-eight different varieties of spruce, and accented with Greco-Roman sculptures peaking out from a maze of exotic shrubbery.

Inside, Kellogg men wearing bespoke seersucker suits gingerly holding smoking pipes with their finely manicured hands exchanging light-hearted banter about making a “killing” shorting [insert overvalued stock ticker]. And out back, Kellogg women gracefully skating across a checkered-pattern lawn half-heartedly playing badminton in their Christian Louboutin red-soled stilettos chatting about the number of children they saved from [insert trivial 3rd world ailment].

As a former speechwriter, I always find writing in my own voice rather trying — one tends to lose your own voice when helping others find theirs. But, we’ll give it the “ole college go”. Lets kick this off in early 90s DJ Kool fashion. Let me clear my throat. Ahem. Ahem. Cue the brass introduction.

My name is Michael and I’m in the 86thcohort of the Kellogg EMBA program — started Kellogg in January 2011. My professional career (to-date) is a collection of interesting experiences, started off at Salomon Brothers after reading Liar’s Poker, then went to work for the Democrats after being unsettled by the Gordon Gekko “greed is good” culture of the late 1990s, later moved back to New York and dabbled as a Saks Fifth Avenue catalogue hand model to selecting music tracks for Ralph Lauren fragrance commercials, then drove West to create television and film properties, to a tenure at IBM as an executive speechwriter and strategist, to now co-authoring a book with David Wilhelm, former Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairman and 1992 Clinton-Gore National Campaign Manager.

THE OPEN HOUSE I attended May 2010 at the Evanston campus seemed ages ago — when Apple stock was trading at a mere $199/share, before Charlie Sheen’s world tour of cocaine-fueled bad behavior, and Iron Man 2 was tops at the box office. Last weekend, like a 2010 version of myself, a new crop of prospective students attended the Evanston Open House. Many had similar questions, “How are study groups assembled”, “How has your Kellogg experience been”, and “What can I read to prepare for the EMBA program”. The answer to the first two questions is “carefully” and “great”, but the latter is somewhat difficult to answer. There isn’t any series of texts you can read or subject matter you can gain proficiency that will better prepare you for the program. Rather, an earnest conversation with your partner (e.g., spouse, lover, or houseboy) is often overlooked, but most essential. Ensure you lucidly communicate “why” you want to attend the program, “what” support you need to excel and your partner needs during your absence, and “how” it will enrich both your lives. As the program progresses, it’s not macroeconomics or international finance that’ll give you fits — but the lack of encouragement and support you receive from home. In sum, if you can’t muster enthusiasm and excitement from your partner on the merits of your candidacy — I doubt you’ll be able to convince the Admissions Committee either.

So I’m a typicalEMBA student – thirty something, a husband with a demanding career, three young children, a super career and a life! One of the reasons that the Kellogg Executive MBA program was top of my list when I considered going back to school was the amazing support network that I heard about and have now witnessed as being a part of the Kellogg family. I remember talking with current students before I applied to Kellogg and being told that the successful completion of an EMBA was a “family affair”. In addition to the support from your spouse, partner or significant other, a key part of the two years is the support network that Kellogg provides to ensure that we have a satisfying, successful program experience.

My class, EMP-87, hosted the annual Partners’ Weekend from May 17-20 on the Kellogg Miami campus. Partners’ Weekend is designed to engage our spouses, partners and families in the EMBA program. During this annual tradition, they get a taste of life on the Miami Campus and a sense of what makes our Executive MBA program one of the world’s best. Partners are introduced to classmates and faculty and witness firsthand what it means to be an EMBA student at Kellogg – the amazing teamwork, the late study group sessions and the irreplaceable interaction, needless to say the amazing food the weekend offers.

The sacrifice and support of one’s partner is critical in ensuring their success as they balance career with study and quality time for family. Getting an EMBA is a significant time commitment and for my spouse, participating in this weekend was one of many ways for him to involved, expand his professional networks and make new friends.

It is always very interesting to watch our children meet each other, play together most of the weekend and become friends by the time the weekend is over. Lasting memories, for sure, and who knows? Maybe one day they will meet again in the same Kellogg cohort, this time as students themselves.

The weekend began with a social hour and a welcome dinner on Thursday. For some of us, this was the first time introducing our spouses to our classmates (my family was not able to make the weekend in my first year at Kellogg). On Friday, our partners had lunch at the amazing Lombardi’s Italian Restaurant where, despite the rainy weather that afternoon, there was great conversation. Many interesting conversations were shared at lunch ranging from how partners work together to share responsibilities for the children when one partner is away in school to how partners do the assigned readings together, just for the fun of it.

On Saturday, our partners had the pleasure of sitting through a class with Stephen Presser, a professor of management & strategy and business law at Northwestern. Professor Presser is a leading American legal historian and expert on shareholder liability for corporate debts. Partners came prepared to ask questions about American law and our legal system. Professor Presser expressed to several of us after the class that our spouses would make “fine lawyers”. Partners were also granted with the degree of “Master of Understanding” having participated in the class. Such a nice gesture!

The weekend ended with a wonderful dinner at Season’s 52 restaurant. Everyone attended with their families and the children had so much fun. Many of them were asleep by the end of the evening. These are the experiences we will treasure forever.

In reality, pursuing an EMBA is not just about one person; it is also about those that go through this experience with us – in one way or the other. To them – our spouses, partners and children – we give thanks!

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